TRANSPARENCY AZERBAIJAN AND “AZERIGAS” DISCUSSED TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN GAS SUPPLY

Posted by: admin | Posted on: Апрель 23, 2013

On June 28, 2011, the non-governmental organization Transparency Azerbaijan, with support from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), organized a roundtable to discuss successes and challenges in gas supply. The roundtable was the next in a series organized by Transparency Azerbaijan to facilitate dialogue between the government institutions and NGOs on ways to increase transparency and accountability. Participants of the roundtable included the representatives of Ministry of Energy and Fuel, Baku City Housing and Utilities Department, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Prosecutor’s Office, NGOs and International Organizations. The relevant government entities had made some efforts to improve supply of gas to the population and reduce corruption in this area of service. The new changes included the improvement of appeal mechanisms and their transparency, introduction of new service contracts and procedures for gas meters installation, application of pre-paid smart meters, etc.
The main goal of the roundtable was to identify and discuss current deficiencies in efforts aimed at minimizing opportunities for corrupt practices in supply of gas to the population, as well as to enhance safety standards in this sector, and also explore ways to increase transparency and accountability in this area.During the event Elbrus Mammadov, head of legal department of Azerigas, spoke about recent reforms in supply of gas to the population of Azerbaijan. Alimamed Nuriyev, President of the Constitution Research Fund and coordinator of Information and Cooperation Network of Anti-corruption NGOs, discussed existing problems in consumer-supplier relations in provision of gas to the population. Alekper Agasiyev, an expert on the utilities sector from the Constitution Research Fund, talked about typical violations of the consumer’s rights by gas suppliers. Rena Safaralieva, Executive Director of Transparency Azerbaijan made general recommendations on ways to improve transparency in gas supply.The participants praised the value in this exchange of views between government and civil society. Participants of the roundtable made some other recommendations, suggestions on the improvement of transparency and accountability in the area of provision of target social aid which will be submitted in writing to the Ministry.